A Test of Friendship
by zukolover333
Summary: After finding that bending in the city is slowly disappearing, Kichi approaches her friends-the Gaang-to solve the problem. But not everyone is as they seem and crazy things are happening!
1. Chapter 1

It had been so long since she'd actually seen any of the gang, and what felt like longer since they had actually done anything useful. What made her angry was that she knew they were getting together without her. Was she not good enough for them? Did they think they could just abandon her after the war was over?

"No. They're your friends," Kichi reminded herself. They'd been through a lot, become a family on their journey to take down Ozai. So why was it that they were getting together without her? She knew her anger just came from feeling left out; from feeling hurt by their neglect. She'd seen Katara and Suki up in the high tower of the Presidential building; a building where the gang had made their homes, though more often than not they weren't there. She'd seen Zuko and Ozai wandering the ground, arguing about things. She'd even seen Aang fly around the towers on occasion with Appa.

And where was she? Sitting on a bench that rested on a grassy hill, just outside the grounds of the building. People were playing games around her, trivial games that people come up with when outside and have nothing to do but to enjoy the fresh air. But today felt different for some reason. Instead of using the elements that they were known for, the people were ignoring them. They had been for quite a few years, actually. Who needed bending abilities when there was so much technology available now? It kind of irked her. Would the Spirits remove their abilities if they continued to ignore them?

At that moment, a young girl came running up to her. "Kichi! Kichi!" she cried. She looked panicked. Kichi didn't have to wonder how the girl knew her name. Everyone knew who she and the gang were after the war.

"What is it?" she asked.

"My firebending!"

"What about it?"

"It's gone!" The girl proceeded to take a fighting stance, thrust her arms forward to shoot flames into the air, but nothing came out. Though the air did shimmer with heat just outside her extended fist.

Kichi stared. She'd seen something similar to this with Zuko, but why would a carefree young girl be suffering from lack of "drive"? "How long has it been like this?" she asked.

The girl, now practically in tears, slumped away from her previous stance and stared at the ground. "I don't know. I haven't used my firebending in a while, and I went to use it today when playing with Timothy, but nothing happened. And he can't firebend, either. Am I broken?"

"Broken?" Kichi asked. She would have smiled were it not for the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "No. You're not broken… Let's see if I can." She rose from her bench and took the same stance the girl had taken. She was confident she could firebend, since she unlike everyone else had not been neglecting her training. But when she punched out at the air, nothing happened. There was a bit of warm energy that she felt come from her fist, but that was it. She stared at her hand in alarm.

"You can't firebend, either!" the young girl cried. "What's going on?"

Kichi ignored her and proceeded to take an airbending stance, her legs spreading slightly. She waved her arm over her head, trying to manipulate the wind currents that were caused by the motion, but again, nothing happened. "What-?" The girl now completely forgotten, Kichi moved into earthbending poses, lashing at the ground over and over again, but not even a pebble budged. Her attempt at grabbing at the water in the nearby pond was as much of a failure. At this point she was in a panic. Something was horribly wrong!

"Hey! Wait! Where are you going?" she heard the girl call after her as she ran her way toward the Presidential building. Nevermind the girl, this was serious. She had to tell the others.

But Kichi halted at the front doors. She'd forgotten how angry she was at her friends for ignoring her, for not ever saying hi. They probably didn't even think about her.

"I'll just go in chameleon style, then," she said. Her ability to become invisible and to slip through solid objects wasn't technically bending, was it? The great Chameleon spirit Renkai had given her the ability when she'd been trapped in the Spirit World looking for Aang. Spiritual blessings didn't just vanish…did they?

And to Kichi's great relief, she found that when she called on the abilities, they came. She felt her body become lighter, watched as her whole form seemed to disappear. "Time to pay a visit to my old 'friends'," she said, and slipped right through the closed doors.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The building was as enormous as she remembered it being. Hallways leading every which way, thousands of doors and large rooms, hundreds of stair cases that led to more floors with even more halls, doors, and room. She didn't know what every room was for, but she did remember where her friends often hung out when they were here. First, she would go see Katara, who hung out at the northern tower of the place. It reminded her of the buildings in _the Jetsons_ in a lot of ways.

So she made her way up several flights, ignoring walls that originally might have been obstacles. The walls started to close in around her as she went up more and more flights to finally reach the tower, fewer halls available in the lesser space. When she finally reached the very top, there were only two somewhat large rooms, one on each side of her, their doors locked. But that didn't matter to her. She stood there at the top of the staircase, listening, and to her great pleasure, she heard two familiar voices coming from the room on the left. Katara's study.

Quietly as she could, Kichi crept toward the room and then carefully slipped through the wall. The room was somewhat golden hued, there being no windows and so it relying on five golden lamps at each corner. Books were everywhere, a table and desk, several knickknacks. And there, standing near the back and facing away from Kichi, were Katara and Suki. Katara was rubbing her arm and looking down at the floor, something she always did when nervous or embarrassed or afraid to admit something.

"You can't tell Sokka yet. Or Aang," she was saying.

"But they would want to know," Suki said, looking perplexed. "I mean, Aang is the father, right?"

Kichi felt her heart stop and almost cried out in surprise. Katara, _pregnant_? Was that even possible? She was only sixteen years old, and Aang only fourteen!

"I don't know."

"How do you NOT know?"

At this point Kichi had had enough. She slipped back out of the room, fuming. What were these people doing? They were doing stupid things!

But it was only as she stormed her way down the stairs she had come up that she realized that her anger was more from how hurt she felt. She hadn't seen her friends in over a year, at least not up close and personal. They hadn't looked for her, talked to her, and she'd been nearby this whole time. Katara had something as big as this going on and hadn't bothered to think to tell HER. She'd felt more comfortable confiding in Suki. Had she done something to unintentionally hurt her friends?

It took her fifteen minutes to find another one of her friends. She'd checked some of their rooms and had been passing by one of the open battling chambers when she heard shouts coming from inside. She peeked her head through the wall to see what was going on.

There was Zuko, and there was Ozai. And they were…. _Firebending_. It was a heated battle, Zuko spinning ropes of flame all around the room and Ozai fighting back with just as much firepower and strength and agility, if not more. She'd never seen their bending so large and powerful before. And they were shouting things at each other.

"You have to put more movement into it!" Ozai was saying, somewhat angrily and he sent a baton of flame at Zuko, who quickly countered with his own wall of fire.

"I'm doing it exactly as you showed me!" Zuko was shouting back, just as angry.

She noticed that Zuko's hair was creeping its way down his back. It had been to his ears last time she'd spoken to him.

She was so focused on what was going on in front of her that Kichi hadn't been paying attention to the stray flame that shot straight at her. She gave a cry of surprise as she felt it phase through her, and fell back out of the room onto her bottom. From inside the shouts stopped and the sound of roaring fires as well. She'd been so startled (cause, come on, who isn't startled when a huge flame comes at your face, whether you remember that it can phase through you or not?), that she'd become visible again, and had no time to revert back before the door to the room on her left opened and Zuko peeked his head out.

He stared at her. She must have been a pretty strange sight, sitting there on the floor and looking like someone had punched her in the face. "Kichi? What are you doing here?" He came out, Ozai closely following though looking far less concerned and more irritated about his battle having been interrupted.

Kichi felt her temper flare up again. "I'm allowed in here, you know," she said, rising to her feet before he could offer his hand to help her up.

"I know, but, I haven't seen you in a long time." Zuko looked perplexed at her anger. He obviously had no idea what he'd done to upset her. And why should he? He was just as arrogant as the others.

"You mean you forgot about me," she said, folding her arms.

Ozai snorted and rolled his eyes. "Come get me when the drama is over," he said to Zuko and walked off.

Zuko ignored his father and continued to stare at her. "What? I didn't forget about you," he said, taking a step forward, but she took a step back from him when he did.

"I've been sitting just outside the grounds, watching you guys for a year," she snapped. "You're all busy living your happy little lives as heroes and haven't even bothered to think about me. No one has written me, no one has looked over and noticed I was sitting there, nothing."

"That's not true," Zuko said, now sounding a little more like himself with the edge of irritation in his tone. "We've just been… busy."

That got her. "Oh, yes! So busy! Practicing your firebending in the hall with your previously evil father can be such a time consumer!"

He went to say something, but she interrupted him. "But I didn't come here to prove how awful of friends you guys are. I came to tell you that the world's bending is vanishing. Or at least those outside of this building near the part. Even I can't bend.."

"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked, looking confused again.

"Watch. I'll show you." She went through the same procedures she had when talking to the little girl, and once again, nothing happened. "And I'm not the only one. None of the kids out there can do it anymore, either. But for some reason, your firebending is just as strong as ever, if not stronger."

Zuko didn't say anything. He was staring at her, a strange look of worry starting to creep onto his face. As if he knew something that she didn't.

"What?" she asked.

"I think we should go talk to Aang," he finally said, though sounding more like he was talking to himself.

"No. I wasn't planning on talking to any of you right away." Kichi was livid. How could he just suggest talking to Aang like that as if what she'd told him about none of their caring about her hadn't happened?

"We're going to talk to Aang," he said, more finally this time. The worry was gone from his features but she could still see it in the back of his eyes.

As much as she wanted to shout at him, to storm off, Kichi couldn't. He and the others may have hated her, but she still loved each and every one of them. They were her family. But why go to see Aang? She made an effort to look like she was seriously debating storming off, then looked Zuko straight in the eyes and nodded. "Fine."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Aang's room couldn't even really be called a room. It was in the very center of the building, but it was outside. And it was huge. It was like an indoor/outdoor field of grass with a few trees here and there. Above was the sky, the sun shining down. This was where Zuko led her, and this was where they found Aang, working on his earthbending with Toph. Appa was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Momo.

How is it everyone else can bend? Kichi wondered, confused.

Both Aang and Toph stopped right when they entered, and both Aang and Toph looked quite shocked that she was there.

"Heeey, it's Miss Invisible," Toph said, her shock now completely gone and replaced by her usual superior grin. "I was wondering when you'd finally come to see us."

Kichi opened her mouth to retort quite nastily, but Zuko interrupted her very bluntly. "We need to talk to Aang," he said.

Aang, who had remained quite so far, looked even more confused. He glanced from Kichi, to Zuko, to Kichi again, then nodded.

"Fine. But don't think you're training is done just because Zuko and little Miss Invisible interrupted," Toph said, looking pleased with herself. He linked her hands behind her head and proceeded out the door on the other side of the room.

When she was gone, Zuko walked toward Aang and Kichi automatically followed.

"It's nice to see you again, Kichi," Aang said genuinely to her, holding out his arms as if to hug her. But she jerked out of the way, which seemed to surprise him, and she hoped, hurt him. She couldn't believe they were acting as if she were a long lost friend, and not some family member that they hadn't bothered to talk to in a year. As if it were HER decision to have left. She felt like ripping his happy little face off.

"Aang. Kichi has some bad news for you," Zuko said, not looking at her.

Aang looked confused again and glanced at Kichi.

For a second she didn't say anything, still so mad. Then, instead of bothering to open her mouth, she just proceeded to show him what she had already shown Zuko. No air came from her waving hands, no earth moved at her feet, no fire shot from her fist. "And I'm not the only one," she said at Aang bewildered face. No one else outside this building can bend, either.

It was here that she decided to actually take in what she was looking at. Aang had grown much taller since she had last seen, and somewhat more broader. He still resembled a monk, though, bald head. And his voice was now that of a teenage boy, deeper.

"What do you make of it?" Zuko asked. She didn't fail to notice how Aang shot him a knowing and worried glance.

"Roku did warn me about this last year," Aang said, though he said it as if just bringing Kichi up to date. By the looks of it, Zuko did not find this news news.

"What's going on?" Kichi demanded, practically stomping her foot.

Aang turned from Zuko and looked at her solemnly. "The world is changing," he said.

She stared. It was the most stupid thing she had ever heard come out of his mouth. "No…" she said sarcastically. "I had no idea!"

Aang stared right back at her, a little puzzled. "What I mean is, the world is evolving. People don't need their bending as much as they used to, so the Spirits are taking it away."

This is exactly what she had been thinking about earlier. But it didn't make her feel any better to hear it confirmed. "But you guys can still bend! I just caught Zuko firebending with Ozai. And I just saw you and Toph earthbending not more than five minutes ago."

"Yeah…" Aang looked to Zuko as if for help, but the young firebender said nothing.

"How come I can't bend anymore?" Kichi was feeling desperate now. Nevermind her anger that she had for her friends. Why would she lose her abilities and not them? She loved bending more than life itself, and used it every day.

"I don't know," Aang answered, this time looking confused. "Roku mentioned that since the war is over, people don't need their bending anymore. But we were the ones who helped in stopping the war, so we got to keep our bending, in case the world has need of us again."

"Yeah. WE. I was there, too! Why did the spirits take away MY bending?" She felt like crying.

Aang shook his head. "I'll talk to Roku about it. Give me a few hours." He turned and walked away, coming to rest under the nearby tree and getting into a meditative stance.

"Come on," Zuko said, looking at Aang and then turning to leave.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"We didn't forget about you," Zuko was saying as he sat across from her in the large library of the building. The walls were nothing but shelves of books that went all the way up to the third floor, the only means of getting to them being large ladders on wheels. "We've just been busy."

Again with the "busy" excuse. "I see nothing for you to be busy with," Kichi said, more sad now than angry. Her initial fury had exhausted her and now she just felt empty inside. "And no reason for you guys not trying to find me or contact me."

"We couldn't," he said. "We were told not to."

"What? By who? And since when would that stop any of you? If Aang were told not to talk to Katara, he'd do it anyways. And Katara to Sokka. And you to Aang. Do you guys just not care about me as much? Am I not really part of the family?"

Zuko leaned forward, obvious anger written all over his face. "How can you say that?" he asked. But instead of going further in his disgruntlement, he instead leaned back and rubbed his face in exasperation. "We were told by Aang that we weren't to try and contact you for a while. That to do so could mean endangering your life."

She blinked. "Why would Aang say that?"

"I don't know. He wouldn't go into exact detail. But he emphasized the importance of it. Said that you'd come to us when you were ready."

"Ready for what? What did he mean it would endanger my life? I haven't been in any danger!" She was angry again, and hurt. Why would Aang try and keep her family away from her? That didn't sound like him at all.

"I've told you as much as I know," Zuko said, shrugging and looking tired. "Though I admit it was hard at times. Katara almost went against it on more than one occasion. We haven't been here at this building a lot, and usually never at the same time, but when she was here she said she could see you sitting outside the grounds, looking sad. Sokka tried sending you a secret message on his boomerang, but he said for some reason when he threw it toward you, it would just drop to the ground like a rock."

That was strange. Boomerangs didn't work like that.

"Why didn't you ever try coming to see us?" Zuko asked.

Kichi sighed sadly. It was a question she knew would come up eventually. Here she was complaining that they never came to see HER and yet she never tried to go see them or make any sort of contact. "After the war, everyone went their own separate ways for a long time, myself included. But I started missing you guys after a year and came to visit sometimes when I saw one of you here. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to coming in, though. I was afraid. It had been a whole year and none of you had ever bothered trying to contact me… I thought I'd offended you guys in some way."

Zuko shook his head. "That's ridiculous."

"Yeah." She laughed feebly. "Now that I think about it, it really is. But.."

At that moment, the library doors burst open with a bang. Before Kichi had any time to react or to see who had come in, something was hugging her so tight she couldn't breathe. The hug moved from a death grip to a loving embrace moments later, but the person still wouldn't pull away.

"Hey, Katara," Kichi said, realizing who it was. She felt an overwhelming sense of happiness at seeing her close friend again. It had been a whole year or more since she had spoken to her, and yet it felt like an eternity.

When Katara pulled away, Kichi saw there were tears in her eyes. "I've missed you so much," she said.

There was no way she could be angry at her friend after seeing such a touching stroke of love. "I've missed you, too. All of you guys. Zuko was just telling me why none of you ever tried to come see me or send me a letter."

Katara face fell a little, and she looked slightly irked, which surprised Kichi. "Aang told us we shouldn't," was all she said. "And whenever one us tried to, something would happen to prevent it, or Aang would step in."

"I still don't understand," Kichi said, this news confusing her even more. "Why would Aang do that? And give no reason for it?"

"I don't know," Katara admitted, looking a little guilty. "And I'm not saying that I don't trust him… If I believed you were ever in any danger, I wouldn't have tried to come see you as many times as I did. But it's not like Aang to not give a reason for something like that, and…" She stopped, just now noticing Zuko.

"But he hasn't exactly been acting himself the last year," Zuko offered, at which Katara nodded guiltily. "Yeah. I've noticed it, too."

Kichi looked at the both of them. "What do you mean 'he hasn't exactly been acting himself'?"

Katara and Zuko exchanged a private look. "Well, just like this whole thing with not coming to see you. He's been mostly secluded, and comes to us out of the blue telling us strange things that Roku has supposedly told him in a dream. But when we ask about it, he shoves it aside."

"Strange things? Like what?" She felt overwhelmed with questions.

"Like how the Spirits are going to take away the World's bending," Zuko stepped in. "I didn't believe it at first. It sounded so ridiculous. But then you came in today after a year saying that everyone can't bend anymore.."

"What?" Katara looked surprised as she shot a glance at Kichi.

"Yeah. But I don't know if it's the whole world that can't. Just those within the proximity of this place. Even I can't bend anymore." It hurt to admit, but she had to be honest.

"That's terrible, Kichi," Katara said, looking shocked.

"And that's not all he's told us," Zuko broke in. "He just recently told us, after gathering us all here, that something huge and wonderful was about to happen."

"But he wouldn't give any more detail about it," Katara said.

"He didn't seem to be acting secluded when Zuko took me to him," Kichi said. "And he acted like I remember him always acting. Maybe just a bit more mature."

"Yeah," Zuko said, looking at Katara now. "He was practicing his earthbending with Toph."

"I know." Katara nodded. "Toph told me. Said she was surprised when he asked her to train with him today. None of us have really seen him at all this last week. Not since he told us something "wonderful" was about to happen."

"Did she mention him acting strange in any way?" Zuko asked.

Katara shook her head. "Not really. Just said that he was acting nervous. That he wasn't as great as he used to be and that he wasn't really paying as much attention to her as he was just waiting for something."

"Waiting for what?" Kichi asked.

Katara sighed and shrugged. "I'm really worried about him."

It was then that Kichi remembered the conversation she had heard Katara having with Suki earlier. Could Aang's behavior have anything to do with this? Did he somehow know her secret?

Just then, a huge booming sound was heard from outside the room, shaking the walls of the entire library and causing a few books to fall from their high perches. Zuko was out of his chair in an instant. "What was that?" he asked.

All three of them rushed out of the library. From several halls down there was the sound of some great animal roaring. Toph and Suki were running straight for them, looking alarmed.

"It's Appa!" Suki said when she reached them, panting from her fast run and pointing down the hall. "He's attacking Aang!"

No one waited for anything more to be said as they all rushed down the hall. As they ran, Toph was saying, "I was in the room next to Aang's field. He was meditating, just as Kichi and Zuko had left him, and suddenly Appa came out of nowhere!"

"We haven't seen Appa in weeks," Katara panted. "Was Momo with him?"

"We don't know," Suki admitted. As soon as I heard Appa roar, I rushed in to see what was going on and ran into Toph. She said to come get you guys.

As they approached Aang's field once again, there was a terrible banging sound and the wall nearest them gave way. There was Appa, in all his horrible fury. He had rammed the wall in a charge. Kichi had never seen him so angry. There was a horrible gash on his head from when he had rammed into the wall. His fur was horribly matted and there were cakes of dirt buried in it.

As Appa pulled away, the group dashed for the now opened wall and peeked inside. What they saw was so shocking and bewildering that all they could do was stare. Aang was in the far corner, looking worriedly at Appa, though Kichi could have sworn that right before he'd noticed their arrival, Aang's face had been distorted with rage. Momo was there, diving down at Aang's face every few moments, clawing at his face and then retreating back into the air.

What on earth was going on?

Appa now face Aang, his head bowed for another charge, his large front feet scuffing the ground in preparation. Just as he charged, the group of friends jumped in to the rescue. Toph bent the ground around Appa's feet so that he couldn't move and the great animal practically tripped from the unexpected halting. It didn't last very long, however. Appa's fury made him all the more powerful, and he ripped his six feet from the earth. But instead of turning on Toph, he still focused on Aang.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Aang was shouting, looking horribly hurt by the assault from his most trusted pal. He almost looked like he was going to cry. "Who did this to you? Where have you been?"

But Appa wasn't listening. As Suki tried to dive toward him and calm him down, he brushed her aside with his massive head and stomped toward Aang. At Aang's words, he gave another horrible roar, one that made the entire ground beneath Kichi's feet shake. Momo had retreated to the high wall of the place, but was hissing and spitting down at his previously loved owned.

Her first day where she had actually decided to come see her friends and already she was confused beyond all reason. All Kichi could do was stare helplessly at her friends moved in to comfort the raging beast. It was frightening to see how angry Appa was. His eyes were practically red with livid rage. If she could only bend she could be of some help…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It had taken the work of everyone, even Kichi, to finally calm Appa down, though Kichi was ashamed of what they had had to do. Suki had a Shershu tranquilizer in her study and had had to use it on him. From there they tied him down. Momo had quickly come to the rescue, pawing sadly at Appa's still form. The mad little lemur from before was back to his loving and adorable self as soon as Aang had left the room. Katara had led him away crying.

"What the heck just happened?" Toph asked as they regrouped in an empty room nearby. "Why would Appa act like that?"

"I don't know," said Suki sadly. "Wherever he's been these last few weeks, it apparently hasn't been a very great place."

"But this is Aang were talking about," Zuko said. "Appa would never attack Aang. And neither would Momo."

"Maybe they have rabies or something," Suki suggested.

Kichi shook her head. "No. I don't think so."

"So much for Aang's 'prediction'," Zuko said, folding his arms and slumping down against the wall.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Kichi couldn't believe what a crazy day she'd had. She hadn't seen Aang or Katara for hours, not since the incident with Appa, and had no idea where they might be. It was the middle of the night now, late into the night, and Toph, Zuko, and Suki had finally left her to her own room. But she wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. Instead she made her way for Aang's room again.

When she got there, she noticed that Toph had made a sort of large metal cell for the tied up Appa, but she phased right through the wall. It was completely dark inside, there being no windows, and very cramped. She could hear Appa's deep breathing and knew that he was awake. She heard him grunt as he sensed her approach. She may have been invisible, but animals always had a way of knowing she was around.

The bison made no attempt to move, which surprised her. Even though they had tied him down and locked him up, these ropes and metal walls were nothing that could hold a seven ton bison. "Hey, Appa," she said calmly. "Long time no see."

Appa gave a small growl, and she could hear Momo chittering away curiously at her. Before she knew it, something small and fuzzy was on her shoulder and wrapping its tail around her neck. "I've missed you too, Momo," she added with a small laugh.

It was funny. Appa was acting perfectly fine now. As if nothing had happened. Though she admitted that he sounded very sad.

"What was today all about, Appa?" Kichi asked, kneeling down in the dark beside the beast and trying to find his face. When she did, she rested her hand on his muzzle. He grunted in appreciation, but offered nothing more to her question. She wasn't one for understanding animals.

Just then, there was a sound somewhere outside of the metal cage. Kichi froze and listened, wondering if Toph or someone had come to check up on Appa just as she had. But it didn't sound like it. The person was obviously taking great care not to be noticed. As soon as whoever it was approached, Appa began to growl. It was a low, terrible growl, and Kichi suddenly knew who was probably out there. She instinctively went invisible, even though it was pitch black, and became transparent as well, so that even an animal would not know she was there. Momo slipped from her once solid shoulder and swooped away, hissing.

Kichi left the crate then, slipping through the metal as though it were nothing. She was right in thinking it was Aang. He was standing outside of the cage and staring at it as though interested in its construction. He ignored the growls and hisses coming from inside of it and began to circle the walls. "I don't know how you escaped from that cave," he suddenly said, his voice a soft hiss. The tone was dark, and it surprised her. "I buried you in there," he continued, to which the growls began to rise to small roars.

Was she hearing him correctly? Aang had buried Appa in a cave? That was not something Aang would do! She had to be hearing things, or maybe she was dreaming.

"I bet the lemur helped you," he added, mostly to himself.

Aang had made a full circle by now, and Kichi still had no idea what he was getting at or trying to do. But it was when he took a step back and his face was revealed in the moonlight that she almost cried out. Aang's eyes were completely black, like dark sockets, and the figure of a fox overshadowed his features, as though he were wearing a thin silk costume. She knew this fox… She had met him in the Spirit World a year and a half ago when she had gone looking for Aang. He was just as ugly as she remembered him being.

"I'll just have to kill you here and come up with an excuse for it later," he said. "Make it look like you escaped. "

With that said, he pulled back his hand, palm up. There was a strange sucking sensation as Kichi felt the energy from all around them zooming to the palm of his hand and forming a bright blue and purple ball of light.

Without thinking, Kichi rushed forward. She may not have been able to bend, but she wasn't going to let this imposter kill Appa. She ran at him and charged straight into his side, letting herself become solid again. She felt the ball of energy from his hand skin her arms before it plunged somewhere down into the ground. She cried out as they toppled over into the grass.

Aang was back on his feet before she was. She clutched at her arm as it screamed in pain. She was too afraid to look at what the ball of energy had done, and so kept her hand clamped hard over it and she rose.

What she was looking at was Aang. She knew it was his body, but the black fox figure overshadowing it was NOT his spirit. The moonlight revealed him for who he really was.

Goikan gave a small fox-like hiss when he recognized who it was that had interfered with his attack, then he chuckled lightly. Inside the crate, Appa and Momo were roaring and hissing. She could hear the bison straining against the cords that bound him, several of them snapping.

"A bit late to be seeing the big picture, aren't we?" he said, black eyes gleaming.

"You've been using his body this whole time, haven't you?" Kichi asked through clenched teeth. It felt like her arm was going to fall off. She might have even welcomed that.

Instead of answering, Goikan leapt at her, but she dodged out of the way. He was still laughing, as though this whole incident were so amusing to him. "It hurts, doesn't it?" he asked, pointing at her arm. The way he spoke about it sent chills down her spine, as though he knew something she didn't. What exactly had the ball of energy done? She still wasn't going to look, but if the pain continued to increase like it was, she was going to have to scream. "And what a shame that you can't bend…"

Here he stopped, staring at her, looking rather proud of himself. "I knew my energy would spread out like it has, but I had no idea it would be powerful enough to affect YOU. I guess you're just the weaker of the group."

What was she going to do? It's not like she could fight. Her arm was hurting her so much that she was finding it too hard to even think. Without bending, she was useless. She'd jumped in rather stupidly, without thinking, and this was what it cost her. She'd thought she'd beaten him back in the Spirit World… but it had apparently all been a trick. He must have waited for her to leave him when she thought she'd knocked him out, then gone into Aang's body. But then that meant… that Aang had been in the Spirit World this whole time! An entire year and a half!

"I can finish both you and the beasts off, now. You've saved me a trip." He pulled back his hand and once again Kichi felt that strange sucking sensation as energy gathered in his palm. But before it even had time to form there, there was a horrible grating sound and the metal cage that contained Appa went flying in the air, ripped straight out of the ground. Goikan turned in time to see the great bison charge him but was not fast enough to move out of the way. The force behind the charge sent him flying, and he smacked into the nearest wall and slumped unconscious to the floor. Now in the shadows, the moonlight no longer touching him, Kichi only saw Aang. But she knew it wasn't really him.

She opened her mouth to thank the great bison, who was snorting triumphantly at the fallen fox, but instead gave a small cry of pain. She finally looked her arm, which was hurting her so much that she thought her vision would burst with stars. It looked perfectly fine, which surprised her more than any gruesome wound would have, but there was a strange back aura pulsing from it, like smoke. She felt Momo land on her shoulder, his sensing her pain but not knowing what to do about it. Suddenly, her vision went black, and last she felt was her body hitting the ground.


End file.
